Chapter One

A Chapter by EverRose<3

I remember the day the whole world went into a complete blackout like the back of my hand. It was the day everything I grew up with changed and hundreds of people died. The government fell and a royal family rose to power over the small villages people built after the war that claimed many lives. I also remember the day the king sent some of his army to our village to punish my father.

I took a deep breath to steady my bow before I took my shot. The deer stood with his shoulder towards me where I could finally get a good shot. I released my arrow and it was a kill shot that made the deer automatically drop. A grin spread across my face as I slung my bow over my shoulder and walked towards the deer. I grabbed the gutting knife I had in my belt and began gutting the deer.

“Miss you do realize that killing a wild animal is illegal right?” My brother’s husky voice rang out over the clearing.

“Oh my I’m just a useless woman please don’t hurt me.” I smirked remembering the way the people in the head region thought of women as breeding stock only and that they couldn’t do anything.

“Don’t ever think of yourself as useless.” Nate frowned at me before helping me drag the deer back into our village.

We hung it up using a rope and pulley system, we would have to wait till dark to cut it up into usable meat. The king’s soldiers guarded the village pathways and checked the houses during daylight hours but didn’t at nighttime.

“Are you Charlotte and Nathaniel Fletcher?” The king’s head soldier looked at us furrowing his brows together.

“Yes sir.” Nate’s voice was husky as he glared at the soldier.

“I’m Head Soldier Edmund. Where is your father?”

“Not sure sir.”

“Don’t test my patience boy.”

“Charlie go get him.” Nate looked at me with no expression on his face.

My heart hammered in my chest as my feet flew across the uneven cobblestone going to my father’s blacksmith shop. The king never sent his head soldier anywhere only sent his Major General. When the Major general came into your village someone was being sentenced to death and they had to do something like being a traitor or disrespecting an important person.

“Father where are you?”

“Right here Charlie!” A grin spread across his face before he saw my flustered face.

“Are they here?” Fear flashed in my father’s eyes and that made adrenaline pump into my system.

“Yes. What’s going on father?”

“Find your mother and Lil. Protect them Charlie. Promise me!” His voice was demanding and almost breaking as he stared at me.

“I promise!”

“Go!”

I ran back to the shack and my heart stopped pumping for a few beats. Ten soldiers had my mother and little sister in shackles and they were lying on the cobblestone crying. My mother wasn’t moving very much and Lil was bleeding from her head. I tried to control the nausea I felt in my stomach towards the blood as I raced towards them without thinking. A fist connected with my jaw and I held it in pain trying to find the attacker. I grabbed my bloody gutting knife from my waist and glared at the soldier.

“Lil! Lil!” I yelled for my sister and she whimpered in reply. I raced to her side slashing at anyone that came in the way.

I held her knotted black haired head in my lap as I stroked her tear streaked face. I wiped the remaining tears away from her face and kissed her forehead. Strong arms grabbed me from the waist pulling me up before slamming me face first on the ground and handcuffing me. They began to drag me away towards where they had Nate and my father shackled in the town square awaiting their punishment.

“Charlie! No! No!” Lil screamed out for me but I couldn’t talk hands were clamped over my mouth.

Nate’s nose was bleeding and his jaw was already covered in a dark mottled bruise but he stood with a smirk on his face. My father stood with no expression on his face but his eyes were full of fear for his family. I steadied my breath and calmed my nerves before trying to find Lil. She was being dragged towards the head region’s shiny train. Two soldiers dragged Nate after Lil before the train zoomed off. She was gone and was about to be handed into the very hands of the king. Hurt filled my chest and horrible thoughts of how the king would torture her and Nate burned my mind.

“Charlie!” Mason’s voice caught my attention and I turned to look at him.

“Let her go!” Mason glowered at the soldier standing near me.

“Can’t do that.”

“You have the wrong girl, she is my sister!”

“She’s not its daughter?” The soldier brought his eyebrows together in confusion.

“No! She is innocent.”

“Oh sorry sir!” The soldier took off my handcuffs before tossing me to Mason.

Mason caught me in a hug and I breathed in his comforting smell of fresh oranges and firewood smoke. I knew we couldn’t do anything to save my father but I searched for my mom. She lay motionless in a puddle of blood on the ground with a bullet shot right in the middle of her forehead. A gun shot rang out over the sobs of the village folks and a gasp ripped its way out of my throat as my father slunk to the ground. He died instantly. I pushed the emotions to the back of my mind as I looked at Mason.

“They took Lil, Mason.”

“We will get here back, I promise Charlie.”

“Sorry for the confusion sir!” The same soldier that bloodied my nose apologized to Mason.

I wiped the blood of my gutting knife and swallowed any bit of guilt I had as I looked at the soldier I stabbed. He was part of the army that killed my parents and took away my sister. She was the only thing in this world that I cared about and they took her away. Who knows what kind of horrible experiments they would do on her until she died. They’d make Nate join the army because of his fighting skills and huge body size. Lil needed me just as much as I needed her to keep me sane.

“I will save you from them Lil. If it is the last thing I do.”